That's a sunk cost though. It's not as if Mattison wouldn't get paid for that month if Michigan didn't go to a bowl. BCS win bonuses, on the other hand, likely greatly outweigh the small profit. I think Hoke's contract included something around 75k or maybe even 6 figures for winning a BCS bowl.

I personally think the article's headline is a bit misleading because the "profit" was on Michigan's expense allowance for the game, and does not include Michigan's share of the remaining bowl revenue for the Sugar Bowl and other bowls. Unless the conference had to pay more in unused tickets than it received for its bowl bids, Michigan should still pocket a nice chunk of change from its share of the remainder.

He didn't say anything about any figures for any other schools. How many tickets did Wisconsin fail to sell? Why not give us a reference point before saying that Michigan cost the Big Ten all of this money.

Completely agree. Even though I went to the game, it would have been nice to spend one more day in New Orleans and not have to sprint back to Ann Arbor. I know a lot of people who chose to not attend because of school or work.